Pork Donburi with Worcestershire Sauce 豚肉のウスターソース丼

Donburi (meaning “rice bowl”), or simply don, is a beloved Japanese dish that is said to date back to the Muromachi or Edo Period (from the early 14th to the mid-19th century). It’s a one-dish meal where white rice is topped with seafood, meat, and/or vegetables. Variations include ten-don, with tempura; katsu-don, with a pork cutlet; and oyako-don, with chicken and simmered egg. As rice is a staple in both Chinese and Japanese cuisine, this recipe is a classic Chinese dish reinterpreted for ingredients that are available outside China and served over Japanese rice, which pairs well with any dish. This hearty and filling donburi recipe represents a true fusion of Japanese food culture and Chinese cooking techniques.

天丼、カツ丼、親子丼。1つの器に白ごはんとおかずになる具材を乗せて食べる豪快な「丼」は、室町〜江戸時代から発展したと言われる、日本人が愛してやまない大衆食文化のひとつです。今回は、同じくお米が主食文化の中国圏で作られる定番のおかずを、海外でも手に入りやすい材料に置き換えてアレンジしました。どんな料理も懐深く受け止める日本のお米。日本の食文化と中国料理の技術が融合した、ボリューム満点の丼ぶりレシピを紹介します。

How to cook

This is a classic Chinese dish of stir-fried pork and vegetables in a flavorful sauce thickened with a potato starch slurry. It pairs beautifully with rice and can be served either as a side or as a main dish. Cut the ingredients into evenly sized pieces and prepare them using the Chinese cooking technique of velveting to enhance the rich flavors and crisp textures.

Ingredients 2 servings

160g （5.6oz）: Pork fillet (can substitute pork loin)
40g （1.4oz）: Boiled bamboo shoots
30g （1.1oz）: Fresh shiitake mushrooms
30g （1.1oz）: Green bell pepper
15g （0.5oz）: Carrot
30g （1.1oz）: Celery
200g （7.1oz）: Ready-to-eat rice※1 (can substitute cooked rice)

※1 Before the dish is ready, heat the rice according to the package instructions.

A

15g （0.5oz）: Water
1 pinch: Salt
1 pinch: Pepper
1 spoonful: Beaten Egg (whole egg)
As needed: Potato Starch
15g （0.5oz）: Salad Oil

B

15g （0.5oz）: White Wine
15g （0.5oz）: Soy Sauce
15g （0.5oz）: Worcestershire Sauce
45g （1.5oz）: Powdered Chicken Stock
15g （0.5oz）: Sugar
1 spoonful: Potato Starch Slurry

仕上げ

5g （0.2oz）: Spring Onion (cut into thin diamonds)
5g （0.2oz）: Ginger (cut into thin diamonds)
15g （0.5oz）: Sesame Oil

Prepare the rice.

Please prepare pre-cooked rice (packaged rice) in advance. If you plan to cook rice yourself, please refer to this.

How to Cook お米の炊き方

調理の手順

Approx. 30 minutes

Prepare the pork.

Cut the pork fillet into strips. They should be about 4cm long, 2cm wide, and 3mm thick. In a bowl, rub the pork strips with the A ingredients to season. As the base seasoning, first, add water, then salt and pepper, then mix well (to reduce the moisture). Next, add beaten egg and mix well again. Finally, add potato starch and oil to coat the pork. If possible, let sit for about 15 minutes.

* The water helps to soften tough meat, and it can be omitted if the pork is tender.

Prepare the vegetables

Cut bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, green pepper, carrot, and celery into slices that are 4cm long, 2cm wide, and 1mm thick. The size should be consistent so that they cook evenly.

Mix the seasonings

In another bowl, add the B seasonings and mix thoroughly.

Velvet the ingredients

Pour oil as needed (not included in the list of ingredients) into a deep-frying pan (or a wok, as shown in the picture) and heat it to 160-170°C. Dip the pork from Step 1 into the oil for about 30 seconds, then turn off the heat, and set the pork in a strainer to drain (with a bowl under it to catch the oil drippings). Return the oil to the frying pan, and dip the vegetables from Step 2 into the oil to cook from the residual heat. Then, set the vegetables in a strainer to drain the oil.

* Velveting is a cooking technique of dipping ingredients in heated oil before stir-frying. It enhances the color and texture of the food, but can be skipped if circumstances require.

Stir-fry the aromatics

Remove the oil from the frying pan used in Step 4, and use it to stir-fry the spring onion and ginger over medium heat until fragrant.

Stir-fry all ingredients

Return the velveted ingredients to the frying pan. Add the seasonings from Step 3 (first mixing thoroughly to reincorporate any potato starch that has settled on the bottom), then stir-fry all ingredients over medium heat until they are cooked through (1 to 2 minutes).